


Take my Hand (Don't let it Bleed)

by grimdigee



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, Gen, Hopeful Ending, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Katara is mean in this, Other, Panic Attacks, Post-Episode: s03e14-15 The Boiling Rock, Self-Harm, ig its canon compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-25
Updated: 2020-06-25
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:53:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24911911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grimdigee/pseuds/grimdigee
Summary: He sheathed the blade, staring at what he had done, now that his outburst had ended and he was regaining his senses, it finally hit him, he broke his word, his promise to himself, he slipped, and it was no one's fault but his own.Or, Zuko breaks and Sokka helps him through it because he's a good friend.Please mind the tags, I've never written something like this before.
Relationships: Sokka & Zuko (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Implied), The Gaang & Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 20
Kudos: 431





	Take my Hand (Don't let it Bleed)

**Author's Note:**

> National Suicide Prevention Lifeline  
> 1-800-273-8255
> 
> Please be safe, mind the tags.

Zuko wasn't ever really a people person, he tended to prefer staying out of the spotlight, and over the years, it became glaringly obvious that he was weak by nature, even if his bending became strong, his spirit, while he tended to fake it a lot, wasn't strong at all, rather, he was actually quite scared most of the time.

He sighed, making friends was hard, making friends with people you attacked multiple times was even harder, and making friends when you were the son of someone who was continuing a meaningless and stupid war, causing the deaths of many, was almost impossible.

Despite that, he had seemed to get on Toph's good side right from the start, soon Aang joined her in trusting him, and now Sokka too, actually, it seems that the only one who still hated him was Katara.

Now, Zuko doesn't disagree that Katara has every right to be mad, but that doesn't mean he isn't allowed to be sad about it, he would much prefer if this was easier, if Katara was more forgiving, but it seemed that when she held a grudge, she held hard.

The most unfortunate thing about this all, was that, even though most of the group trusted him, Katara's constant snide remarks and hostility towards him was causing him to spiral.

Today was a very bad day for Zuko, he was on edge and nothing was calming him down, he shuddered, it was warm outside but he felt chilled, Zuko blamed Katara for that, for some reason she decided she wanted to practice icebending right behind him, a few times the frigid spikes came very close to impaling him, and every single time Zuko was almost a hundred percent sure it was on purpose, since, despite her apologies, she would smirk as he flinched.

If there was one thing Zuko didn't need today, it was people taking pleasure in his discomfort, the last thing he needed was a reminder of his Father and Sister, for they were the people who enjoyed it the most, and right now, Zuko could almost see Azula in Katara, if Zuko pondered it more, he'd almost wonder if she was doing it on purpose, carrying herself like she owned the world, confident, sassy, aggressive...

It was all very Azula and every time she even looked at him he would feel shivers go down his spine, pretty unpleasant if you asked him.

His thoughts were cut short by yet another ice spike shooting towards him, this time though, he fell backwards because of it, and, as he suspected, instead of kind words and a helping hand, all Katara could offer was a cruel laugh, pretty much solidifying his theory that it was on purpose.

Zuko pushed himself off the ground, in any other scenario he would have snapped at her, yelling about how annoying it was and how she could've killed him, but this time the only thing he could comprehend was the malicious, cold laughter, and the fear that pulsed through his veins.

Ignoring his new friends, and attempting to tune out Katara's jeering laugh, he sprinted away, ignoring the calls for him to stop and come back.

“Wait, Zuko, stop!” He heard Aang shout, it didn't matter, what mattered was his panic clouded mind and his... Urge.

'No.. No please... I was doing so well, I was doing so-' Zuko bit his lip, running down the corridors of the air temple, he huffed, trying to regain his breath, not that it was helping, already his vision started blurring at the edges, focus slipping quickly, Zuko barely even registered falling to his knees and pulling out his knife, it was only when he held it to his wrist did he pause.

He had been clean for ages now, the scars on his upper arms were faded with age and barely noticeable, was Zuko really going to break over Katara being a little bit mean to him?

'I... I KNOW I shouldn't... But I need this.' He finalized, bringing the knife down to his wrist, he would deal with the consequences later, instead he savored at the drag of the blade, sighing in relief as the blood trickled down to the back of his arm, dripping onto the floor of the hall.

He brought the weapon down again, slicing another long cut into his arm, after another, and then another, and suddenly a few minutes had passed and he now had five cuts on his arm.

He sheathed the blade, staring at what he had done, now that his outburst had ended and he was regaining his senses, it finally hit him, he broke his word, his promise to himself, he slipped, and it was no one's fault but his own.

...

It was nighttime, Aang, Toph, and Sokka had spent the day looking for Zuko after he ran off, Katara wasn't too worried about it.

“you guys need to quit worrying, honestly, he's probably just off sulking, upset that I scared him enough to make him fall over.” Katara said, stirring a pot of stew, “It's possible, but that doesn't make what you did right!” Sokka argued.

“Oh please, it was an accident and you know it!” She grit her teeth, “An accident you did four times, either you're lying or you're not as good at waterbending as you think.” Sokka growled, Toph barked out a laugh, “Sick burn, Sokka!” She giggled, but quickly after looked more serious.

“You know, he is right though, Katara, you know that I know you're lying, and I know that we BOTH know you're a good waterbender, so you just chose to be mean to Zuko.” Toph stated, the rest of the group nodding.

Katara sighed, “Fine, maybe I was doing it on purpose, but you can't blame me if he's pissy over a joke!” She started dishing the stew out into their bowls, Sokka dug into his, “Yeah, but it still doesn't make it right.” Sokka said, muffled from his mouthful of food.

Before Katara could continue arguing about it, Zuko walked around a corner, he smiled softly, though it didn't reach his eyes, he sat down at their circle, it was quiet for a moment, everyone waiting for someone else to ask the question they were all wondering.

“Where uh... Where did you run off to?” Aang finally spoke up, Zuko shrugged, “Just walking around.” He said no more, Sokka handed him a bowl of stew and he used it as an excuse to not talk anymore, everyone was clearly worried but no one wanted to push any more than they needed to.

Wanting to lighten the mood, Aang started telling stories about his time in the different Nations, and how much they've changed.

Zuko, as usual, sat quietly to listen, but this time seemed different, like he was more... Out of it?

The night carried on, when the moon was high everyone decided to head to bed, Zuko started to make his way to his room but Sokka stopped him before he could make it.

They were out of hearing range, Zuko noted, but didn't bother thinking about it too much, Sokka stared at him for a moment before speaking.

“Zuko... Are you okay? You were really down earlier, I'm sorry Katara was so mean but... It just seemed to effect you more today.” Zuko sighed, “Look, Sokka, I appreciate the concern, but I'm okay... I swear.” Sokka shook his head, grabbing Zuko's shoulders.

“Zuko! You're a part of our group now, please, talk to me, I'm your friend!” The firebender's eyes widened, he tensed.

'Should I tell him? What good would come of it?' Sokka grimaced, “I can practically HEAR you think, you don't need to hide this stuff from us, you don't need to hide at all now.” Zuko felt tears well up in his eyes, he didn't know why that was making him cry, but it was like the dam suddenly burst.

Zuko latched onto Sokka, crying into his shoulder, “I... I'm s-sorry..” Sokka shushed him, “It's okay, hey, just.. Just let it out, you need this.” He hugged Zuko to his chest, rubbing calming circles into his back.

After a few minutes Zuko calmed down enough to explain his meltdown, “Sokka... I have an.. Addiction, I guess you could say, I... uhm..” Zuko tugged at his sleeves, deciding it was better to show rather than tell.

Rolling up his sleeves, 'Why is he even wearing long sleeves in this weather?' Sokka wondered, but his question died on his tongue when he saw it.

Under Zuko's sleeve was a bandage, and Sokka didn't need to see the wound to know it was bad, it had bled through the thin, white cloth, Sokka stared in disbelief.

“Wha... Who did this to you?...” He choked out, gently taking Zuko's hand in his and inspecting the makeshift bandage, Zuko shook his head, “I did it. I uh, I started doing it because of an accident, I was training one day and cut my hand, it was a bad day and... Well, the pain helped..” He sniffled, rubbing at his eyes again, Sokka held his hand firmly.

“Zuko, we're gonna get you help... Do you trust me?” Sokka asked, starting to lead him back to the camp, albeit very slowly, Zuko wiped the tears from his eyes, “Katara...” Sokka huffed, “She'll get over herself, please Zuko, you can't keep hurting yourself...” Zuko shut his eyes, taking in a deep breath.

“Alright, let's go...”

**Author's Note:**

> I like happy endings...


End file.
